S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Short Interest Update

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) experienced a significant increase in short interest throughout February. As of February 28th, the total short interest reached 3,620,000 shares, indicating a rise of 25.3% compared to the short interest of 2,890,000 shares reported on February 13th. Given the average trading volume of 1,320,000 shares, the current short-interest ratio stands at 2.7 days. This means about 1.2% of the company's total shares are currently sold short.

S&P Global Stock Performance

During trading on Monday, shares of S&P Global rose by 1.6%, increasing by $7.89 to reach $494.38. A total of 1,168,277 shares changed hands, which is above the average trading volume of 1,148,650 shares. Over the past twelve months, S&P Global's stock has seen a low of $407.69 and a high of $545.39. The company's market capitalization is currently $152.17 billion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.03 and a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41. Its beta is 1.20, indicating moderate volatility. Additionally, the firm has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The 50-day moving average price for S&P Global is $513.56, while the 200-day moving average price is $510.89.

Earnings Report

S&P Global last disclosed its earnings results on February 11th. The company delivered earnings per share of $3.77 for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. The return on equity for the company stood at 14.33%, with a net margin of 27.12%. In the previous year’s quarter, S&P Global had earned $3.13 per share. Analysts project that for the current fiscal year, S&P Global will achieve an earnings per share of 17.11.

Dividend Announcement

In a recent development, S&P Global announced an increase in its quarterly dividend, which was paid out on March 12th. Shareholders who were on record as of February 26th received a dividend of $0.96, reflecting an annualized dividend of $3.84 and a yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date was also set for February 26th. The company's current dividend payout ratio is reported to be 31.09%.

Institutional Investors' Activity

Several hedge funds and institutional investors have made recent adjustments to their holdings in S&P Global. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in S&P Global by 3.4% during the third quarter, owning 8,868,375 shares valued at $4,581,580,000 after adding 292,436 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC also raised its stake by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, acquiring an additional 116,208 shares for a total of 6,589,982 shares valued at $3,273,264,000. Similarly, FMR LLC elevated its holdings by 6.6% during the third quarter, bringing its total to 5,965,369 shares worth $3,081,830,000 after obtaining an additional 369,598 shares. Norges Bank established a new position in S&P Global valued at about $1,725,084,000 in the fourth quarter, and Northern Trust Corp increased its stake by 19.1% during the same period, owning 3,276,043 shares worth $1,631,568,000 after an increase of 525,347 shares. Overall, hedge funds and institutional investors now own approximately 87.17% of the company's stock.

Recent Analyst Ratings

S&P Global has recently been the focus of several research reports. Citigroup began coverage of the stock with a 'buy' rating and a price target of $600.00 on December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised its target price for S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 with an 'overweight' rating on February 12th. BMO Capital Markets also increased their price objective from $576.00 to $590.00 with an 'outperform' rating on February 13th. On the other hand, Oppenheimer lowered their target price from $590.00 to $580.00 while maintaining an 'outperform' rating. StockNews.com downgraded S&P Global from a 'buy' to a 'hold' rating on February 20th. In summary, three research analysts have assigned a 'hold' rating to the stock, whereas fourteen have rated it a 'buy.' According to data from MarketBeat, S&P Global currently has an average rating of 'Moderate Buy' with an overall target price of $590.86.

About S&P Global

S&P Global, Inc. provides independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to capital and commodity markets globally. Their operations are categorized into multiple segments, including Market Intelligence, Ratings, Commodity Insights, Mobility, Indices, and Engineering Solutions.

SPGI, ShortInterest, Stock